Qualcomm introduced the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, a new mid-range smartphone chip. Despite its position in the lineup, this processor brings performance once reserved for flagship phones. If you’ve followed mobile tech trends, you’ll know this launch is a significant step forward for affordable devices.
A Major Leap in Performance and AI for Midrange Devices
Earlier this year, Qualcomm revealed its top-tier chip for 2025, the Snapdragon 8 Elite. That processor marked a major shift by replacing the long-standing Kyro CPU cores with Qualcomm’s new Oryon CPUs. This change was so important that Qualcomm introduced a new name to highlight the advancement. In contrast, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 still uses Kyro cores, keeping it in the midrange category, but it certainly doesn’t lack power.
Even though it doesn’t feature the Oryon upgrade, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 offers a notable improvement over its predecessor. According to Qualcomm, CPU performance has increased by 27 per cent. Graphics performance has also seen a 30 per cent boost thanks to a more powerful Adreno GPU, and AI processing has improved by up to 65 per cent, making this chip smarter and more efficient across many tasks.
This processor features a Kyro CPU layout with a prime core running up to 2.8GHz, four performance cores up to 2.4GHz, and three efficiency cores at 1.8GHz. It supports high-end gaming and video playback through HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and HDR Vivid formats. The Spectra image signal processor can handle triple 12-bit cameras, support three 21MP sensors with no shutter delay, capture photos at up to 200MP, and record 4K video at 30 frames per second.
Flagship-Level Features Without the Flagship Price
Connectivity also gets a serious upgrade. The chip supports 5G with download speeds reaching up to 4.2Gbps using sub-6GHz networks. Wi-Fi performance is enhanced with support for Wi-Fi 7, offering speeds up to 5.8Gbps across the 6GHz, 5GHz, and 2.4GHz bands. Bluetooth 6.0 support is also included. On the AI side, the Hexagon NPU supports INT4, INT8, and INT6 formats, enabling faster and more power-efficient artificial intelligence features, especially in photography, voice recognition, and real-time translation.
What makes the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 especially exciting is how closely it resembles the Snapdragon 865, Qualcomm’s flagship chip back in 2019. While the two are not identical, the CPU layout and clock speeds are surprisingly similar. In fact, the 7 Gen 4 surpasses the 865 in several key areas, such as AI performance, camera capabilities, and wireless speeds. Yesterday’s flagship features are now becoming standard in today’s midrange devices.
Qualcomm confirmed that the first Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 smartphones will arrive in May 2025. Honor and Vivo have already been announced as the first manufacturers to release phones with this processor. This means that powerful, feature-rich devices will soon be available at more accessible price points.
If you’re considering upgrading your phone without spending flagship money, it’s worth watching for models using this chip. With the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, midrange phones are closing the gap and offering features once limited to the most expensive handsets.
